Thesis
MgO rejection from Birchtree ore at Inco's Manitoba division
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- Abstract
- Birchtree is an ultramafic ore body and prior to 2003, represented one third of the production for Inco's Thompson operation. The ultramafic host rocks are high in MgO which, when processed through the smelter, promotes problems in the roasters and converters due to the high liquidus temperature. In October 2003, production from Birchtree mine ramped up to more than half of the total feed to the mill. The mill cannot produce a suitable concentrate for the smelter with current circuit configuration and operating practices. The target for the mill was to produce a nickel concentrate with less than 3% MgO. Continuous mini flotation cells were used to explore processing options. Two campaigns were carried out. The first looked at rejecting the magnesium silicate minerals with the use of reagents from the rougher and scavenger concentrates. Reagents included sodium silicate, guar gum and two types of CMC. Results indicated that current plant practice of CMC addition to the scavenger circuit favours minimizing MgO grade in concentrate. The second campaign focused on rejecting MgO minerals from the rougher-cleaner concentrate with the use of a dilute CMC solution. Flotation retention time, CMC dosage rate, and conditioning time, were varied. Results indicate that 0.1 g CMC per kilogram of solid in slurry produced a concentrate grading <3.0% MgO.
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- 2022-03-18
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MR06583.PDF | 2019-09-27 | Public | Download |